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Dear  Amanda-Jane,
 
The government does not specify the subjects or topics that
private/independent schools should teach about. Neither do we collect
information from them on their curricula, so we have no information to
indicate whether or not it is general practice in independent schools to
teach children about the Bills of Exchange Act by the age of 11.
 
Maintained schools in England must follow the [1]‘national curriculum’.
This specifies subjects to be taught and the standards children in each
key stage should reach in each subject. The national curriculum is part of
each school’s wider curriculum, leaving them some flexibility to teach
other subjects if they choose to.

In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within
the national curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16
year olds. Pupils are taught the functions and uses of money, the
importance of personal budgeting, money management and the need to
understand financial risk.

We have also introduced a rigorous new mathematics curriculum, which
provides young people with the knowledge and financial skills to make
important financial decisions. The government has published statutory
programmes of study for mathematics and citizenship that outline what
pupils should learn about financial education from key stages 1-4.

Other types of state funded school, such as academies don’t have to follow
the national curriculum. However, academies must teach a broad and
balanced curriculum including English, maths and science; and they must
also teach religious education.
The current national curriculum was introduced for first teaching from
September 2014. Rather than this being ‘dumbed down’ as you suggest, the
reformed curriculum is more ‘knowledge-rich’ than the previous one,
putting a greater focus on knowledge than skills. It was only introduced
after careful consideration; the government’s aim being to have a
curriculum which would raise standards.
 
First, a review of the national curriculum was launched in January 2011.
This included scrutiny of the curricula used in the world’s most
successful education jurisdictions; the consideration of nearly 6,000
responses to a call for evidence; talking to subject experts and key
organisations across all the national curriculum subjects; and engaging
with high-performing teachers and headteachers from across the country to
learn more about the most effective practice in England.
 

Public consultation on the government’s subsequent proposals to reform the
national curriculum prompted over 17,000 submissions from a wide range of
respondents including headteachers, teachers, teaching unions, colleges
and universities, subject associations, local authorities, employers,
parents and young people. The consultation on the draft national
curriculum ran until 16 April 2013, and revisions were made to the
programmes of study, in response to the consultation feedback received.
The new national curriculum was published in September 2013, and schools
have been teaching it since September 2014.

While independent schools do not have to follow the national curriculum,
most schools of any type teach the same core subjects; and pupils in
independent schools mostly enter the same GCSEs and A levels as pupils in
state funded schools.

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2018-0043075. If
you need to respond to us, please visit:
[2]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

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Yours sincerely

Carmel Kennedy 

Web: [4]https://www.education.gov.uk
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Thank you for contacting the Department for Education. We can confirm that
we have received the Freedom of Information request you submitted.

We will respond to you within 20 working days.

Dear Amanda-Jane,

Your correspondence has been allocated reference number 2018-0047411. If
you need to respond to us, please visit:
[1]https://www.education.gov.uk/contactus and quote your reference number.

Thank you for your email of 3 December.  

I appreciate that you disagree with current educational policy, but the
national curriculum reflects the subjects and content that the government
considers should be taught to every child in a state funded school.
Individual schools may additionally choose to teach topics not covered by
the national curriculum if they wish to. The government has no plans to
make any significant changes to national curriculum requirements within
the lifetime of this parliament.

While not a national curriculum subject, religious education is a
compulsory subject in all state funded schools, including academies (which
are not required to follow the national curriculum). A locally agreed
syllabus for religious education must reflect that " “the religious
traditions of Great Britain are in the main Christian whilst taking
account of the teaching and practices of the other principal religions
represented in Great Britain". 

I hope you find this helpful.
 

Yours sincerely

Freya Martin 

Web: [2]https://www.education.gov.uk
Twitter: [3]https://www.twitter.com/educationgovuk
Facebook: [4]https://www.facebook.com/educationgovuk

References

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